Sunlight once again spilled over Iowa Valley. The ground that had been scorched black by dragonfire two days ago had, after being tended by the fastidious Orphen Golem, returned to its original state. Even Iowa Pass itself had been repaired until it looked brand-new. Only the beastman camp west of the Boundary River still bore traces of the war.
Early that morning, Landen took Blaze, Honnier, and more than a dozen knights out through the pass, heading west all the way to the eastern bank of the Boundary River. Across the water, two enormous beasts and over a dozen beastmen likewise emerged from the camp.
The two giant beasts were Zhuxi Forest Cat, chief of the Forest Cat Tribe, and Tata Scorch Wolf of the Scorch Wolf Tribe. Today's meeting was meant to have the two tribes and Landen's territory reach a written peace treaty.
The moment Tata saw Landen arrive as promised, a smile appeared on his face. He welcomed this treaty more than anyone. Early that morning, Katarina had already discussed its general terms with him: using slaves from the southern Human Empire to exchange for Gallop Family members in The Basin.
His family stood to gain the most from this. The Scorch Wolf Workshop had already received orders from Night-Kirin City. If new human miners could be put in place during the three months before winter, the impact of the war could be reduced to a minimum.
The security and treatment guarantees for the slaves that Landen insisted upon were not a difficult issue for Tata. Even over the past several centuries, the Human Race within the mines had enjoyed considerable autonomy and had been managed by Gallop Family nobles. There were even many Gallop Family Mana-Wielders who wanted to remain in his mines and manage the